From: ss on
My xp pro Dell 4550 with a 60 GB IDE hard disk got infected by a virus and
would not boot - always got a blue screen during boot.
So took out thr hard disk and hooked it up to a laptop using an ide to usb
adapter and ran Mcafee virus checker which quarantined quite a few files. I
then put thedisk inthre original Dell and tried to repair the installation
using a Win XP installation CD.
The machine does not boot at all. After POST I get a black screen that
remains so for hours. I did a chkdsk /r but that made nodifference.
I tried hooking the disk to the laptop again but now it shows up as an
uninitialized disk in disk management and I cannot see the contents at all.

What are my choices otherr than to reinstall XP. What can I do to save my
data? If I use fixmbr in the recovery console will I lose my file system on
the disk?

Thanks


From: Andrew E. on
First off,did xp do a CHKDSK.The cmd isnt proper,its CHKDSK C: /R
or,in recovery console,try CHKDSK C: /p
Also,with any electrical equitment,if you dont see it responding within a few
minutes,stop it,it may be in a loop or similiar,running it for hours can only
damage software/hardware.Fixmbr or Fixboot do not corrupt other files.
Also,chk the BIOS

"ss" wrote:

> My xp pro Dell 4550 with a 60 GB IDE hard disk got infected by a virus and
> would not boot - always got a blue screen during boot.
> So took out thr hard disk and hooked it up to a laptop using an ide to usb
> adapter and ran Mcafee virus checker which quarantined quite a few files. I
> then put thedisk inthre original Dell and tried to repair the installation
> using a Win XP installation CD.
> The machine does not boot at all. After POST I get a black screen that
> remains so for hours. I did a chkdsk /r but that made nodifference.
> I tried hooking the disk to the laptop again but now it shows up as an
> uninitialized disk in disk management and I cannot see the contents at all.
>
> What are my choices otherr than to reinstall XP. What can I do to save my
> data? If I use fixmbr in the recovery console will I lose my file system on
> the disk?
>
> Thanks
>
>
From: Anteaus on
If the repair install didn't work I would be inclined to cut my losses and do
a full reinstall. Save any data you need, then format the partition. If
possible also run fdisk /mbr from a DOS disk, to make sure no virus is still
lurking in the bootsector. If you have another computer, it may help to
locate and download the drivers you need first.

"ss" wrote:

> My xp pro Dell 4550 with a 60 GB IDE hard disk got infected by a virus and
> would not boot - always got a blue screen during boot.
> So took out thr hard disk and hooked it up to a laptop using an ide to usb
> adapter and ran Mcafee virus checker which quarantined quite a few files. I
> then put thedisk inthre original Dell and tried to repair the installation
> using a Win XP installation CD.
> The machine does not boot at all. After POST I get a black screen that
> remains so for hours. I did a chkdsk /r but that made nodifference.
> I tried hooking the disk to the laptop again but now it shows up as an
> uninitialized disk in disk management and I cannot see the contents at all.
>
> What are my choices otherr than to reinstall XP. What can I do to save my
> data? If I use fixmbr in the recovery console will I lose my file system on
> the disk?
>
> Thanks
>
>